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Peach sat down on a log with a sigh, finally done being "not frustrated" and ready to move on to being "not upset." Mario tentatively sat down beside her, scooting an inch closer before moving two inches to the left, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he tried to make up his mind on the appropriate distance to share between two people being "not discouraged" together.
"How did this even happen?"
He blinked, almost missing her quiet remark.
"What, the crash? That Junior kid-"
"I know that!"
The princess immediately closed her eyes and released a deep breath, casting an apologetic glance his way for her shortness before regaining her composure and speaking in a way that better reflected its retrieval.
"I meant Bowser. How did he escape? How did he join back up with his son? I...I thought I had him completely secured."
A rustle to the left had Mario snapping his head around, unwilling to make room for a third dinosaur in their group, but he was relieved to only spot Luigi pushing through the foliage, stretching the limits of his big brother's order to stay within eyesight, but ultimately doing what he was told. The older one's gaze tracked him until he sat back down, mostly in view, before turning attention back to the princess.
"It wasn't anything to do with your security," he admitted. "It was all me...My fault."
His fists clenched in his lap, heart rate picking up in response to the disappointment he held in himself for falling for Bowser's flowery speeches.
"What do you mean?"
Closing his eyes, he shook his head, hoping with everything he had that she could find it in her heart to be just as forgiving as he was honest.
"I ended the power-up. When we crash-landed, he talked a big talk—had this whole spiel about turning over a new leaf and just wanting to set Junior straight. Be a dad. Help us, even."
He met her disbelieving eyes.
"...And I fell for it."
She didn't say anything. That was somehow so much worse than blatant consternation or blame. He turned his head away, focusing instead on Luigi, who was busy drawing in the dirt with a stick, though his shoulders were tense.
"I don't understand," her voice took on a note of doubt. "You were always the one to trust him the least, of all of us. Even me. There has to be more to it than that."
She frowned, staring ahead like she was trying to fit together a pair of jigsaw pieces from two different puzzles.
"What could he have possibly said to convince you? Or trick you? I know you're not that naïve, Mario."
There was that rustle again, though there was something more frenetic about it this time that distracted him from their conversation once more. He only blinked once before it registered exactly what was wrong and he shot to his feet, searching around with rapidly-growing distress for his brother.
"Lu?"
No answer.
"Luigi!"
Heart now pounding with a memory that fought to be labeled both recent and distant, of T-Rexes and little brothers with underdeveloped self-preservation skills, he was moving forward before he even realized he hadn't given Peach either an explanation or a goodbye, but he also knew that she knew this particular excuse for rudeness would just have to be accepted as part of his personality.
Sure enough, she didn't call him back—just stood up, glancing around herself and looking concerned.
Mario followed the trail of sound and shallow footprints, grateful for the sixth sense gifted to twins and quickly locating his sibling after just a short walk, finding him sitting beside the lakebed and staring out over the water. He felt the air leave his lungs in a flood of relief, and try though he did to make his opening statement a reassuring one, he just couldn't manage, the scolding bursting out without permission.
"I told you not to wander off!"
There. That was out of the way. And now, with a single exhale, he could officially transition from protector back into big brother.
"You scared me, Lu. Are you okay? Why'd you leave?"
Luigi didn't acknowledge him, his knees tucked up to his chest like they always did when he was feeling insecure, one cheek resting on them and the other suspiciously wet as his eyes glimmered with a little more shine than the dim starlight should have granted.
"...Lu?"
No answer.
Mario watched him for a moment before something suddenly clicked.
With an understanding sigh, he carefully moved forward and sat down on the sand, mimicking his brother's position a little more loosely, hands clasped around his knees and eyes raised to the galaxy above them.
...
...
"Can't beat the view out here," he began mildly, keeping his voice soft.
Luigi turned his face the other way, remaining silent, but that was okay. Mario could work with that, especially since he already knew exactly what was wrong.
"...I never liked that word."
A twitch to his right was his only response, but he always could hear his brother's replies and questions without a single letter spoken aloud.
"'Naïve.'"
He picked at a worn thread on his overalls, shrugging one shoulder.
"Always just seemed like a condescending way to say 'too kind.'"
"...Or 'too stupid.'"
The whisper made his fingers pause, a furrow marring his brow line as he bit his lip.
...
...
Staring up at the stars once again, his eyes caught on one in particular as a small smile reached his lips.
"...I remember one time in the Boy Scouts, one of my friends wandered off and I thought it was taking too long to get a search team together, so I decided to just go find him by myself."
Luigi's head shifted slightly, showing he was listening, even if he didn't quite understand the point of the topic.
Mario continued.
"I thought I was so good at navigating that I'd track him down and lead us straight back to the camp, just because I was always the first one able to spot the North Star. That was good enough for me to consider myself an expert, apparently. I did find the kid, to be fair, but I ended up getting us even more lost. The troop leader had to come find us both and I got in trouble big time with Dad. Remember?"
A subtle peek to his right and he darted his eyes back before Luigi could notice that he was confirming he now had his little brother's full attention.
"You know what the problem was?"
...
...
"...What?"
"I was right about the North Star. I found it and I followed it, but when I was a kid, I didn't really get how it worked. I thought it was supposed to lead you anywhere you needed to go if you just kept walking towards it. We'd actually set up camp to the south, so I just kept leading my friend further and further away from the group."
"Expert."
"Shut up. Anyway, the point is, it wasn't the star's fault for being consistent."
He scooted a little closer to his twin.
"...It was my fault for following it."
Luigi tensed, his face turning away again, but Mario wasn't finished, scooting in just a little more and resting his temple gently against his brother's head.
"I'm older now. I can discern, turn away, and head south when I need to lead us south, but I've never once blamed that star for always pointing north."
He sighed, eyes drifting to the west.
"I know exactly where it leads and that it doesn't ever change, and I wouldn't want it to. I need it to stay the same. I can be stubborn when I need to be stubborn; I'm good at that."
Wrapping an arm around his twin, he pulled him in a little closer, Luigi's frame unwinding just slightly as he leaned into his brother.
"But then, when I need a little more help to be forgiving...I always know which direction to follow."
They sat in silence for several minutes before the younger one finally spoke.
...
...
"I'm sorry I led you wrong. I'm sorry you trusted me and I made everything worse, convincing you to let him go."
"You're kind," Mario returned. "You've always been kind. You've always tried to see the best in people, even when they don't deserve a second chance."
He clenched one fist before releasing it, his next words a little more bitter than the last.
"Even when they've used that first chance to hurt you personally."
With a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes and released the tension having built up in his shoulders, allowing himself to just enjoy this brief moment of tranquility under the stars with his twin.
"...I don't want you to stop being who you are. 'Kind.'"
"How about 'naïve?'"
The younger brother twisted his head to look up, blue eyes shining with forlorn humor. Mario huffed.
"I don't think some people think there's a difference."
Luigi's gaze didn't waver.
"Do you?"
...
...
"I don't know."
His brother didn't seem particularly satisfied with that answer, nodding a little before resting their temples together once more.
"All I know is that blame isn't gonna get us home."
Another couple of minutes passed, the two taking comfort from each other as they'd always done, whenever things got just a little too heavy to carry alone.
Both stared up at the expanse above them, one star off to their left glowing especially bright.
"Mario?"
"Hm?"
"...Are you gonna tell Peach it's my fault Bowser's working against us again?"
The older one shook his head.
"I still remember what the troop leader said when he finally found us."
"What did he say?"
He smiled at the memory.
"He said it was amazing how wrong someone could be about being right."
Luigi sighed, pressing closer.
"I'm still so sorry, Mario."
"I'll make a deal with you."
The green twin looked up, waiting.
"You keep leading me straight," he paused, brushing away one last tear, "and I'll keep leading us right. Deal?"
It took a moment, but when his brother's hand slipped into his own and squeezed, and the barest hint of a smile appeared under his mustache, he knew everything would be okay.
"...Deal."
Because they were still together.
~THE END~